Christmas '08 Gift Ideas part 1

Christmas shopping is never easy as there are so many people vying for your attention and so many choices that somehow you end up confused and more stressed than you began. What should have been a relaxing and enjoyable experience becomes the frantic rush to get the medal award for best gifter of the year, and with the financial situation what it is, it's even more stressful and Utopian to think you can manage it all easily! Therefore, we aim to provide a little guiding into some good ideas for scent-related shopping that will satisfy everyone and in most cases won't break the bank.

This holiday season ring in the green by supporting an environmental organization while gifting a gorgeous, handmade botanical perfume to someone dear and close…perhaps even yourself! Sierra perfume by award winning artist and botanical perfumer Roxana Villa extols the virtues of nature and the spirit of the holidays: fresh citrus top notes leading into a conifer forest on an earthy bed of decomposing leaves. Majestic like the great evergreen trees it honors, Sierra is one of several in the line tied to an environmental foundation: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the 7 gram flacon supports the Los Angeles organization TreePeople. The pure perfume extrait contained in a glass flacon retails for $150 and arrives in hand crocheted teal green pouch within a silk lined box. The fragrance also exists as a solid perfume, called Sierra Solid Gold ,expanding upon the primary theme of the liquid by including warm spice notes.($65, contained in an antique finished compact within a hand crocheted teal green pouch enclosed in a silk lined box). Available at illuminatedperfume.com

Bond no.9 have some more economical than usual ideas for Recession Gift giving that is not short on the glam-factor nevertheless.

The "Perfume Token":Solid-perfume compacts are a nice idea, especially for travelling and this is it (refillable too): you choose one of Bond' 6 most popular eaux de parfum ~Union Sqaure, Chinatown, Nuits de Noho, Scent of Peace of Wall Street~ and it has its own little white leather zipper case: $85.
The Soapboxes:
Soaps are classic gifts for hostesses: A set of four (Chelsea Flowers, Chinatown, Eau de New York and The Scent of Peace): $95. A lone soap bar, available in six of the best-selling scents (the boxed foursome, Nuits de Noho and Wall Street): $35.
Travellers' Candles:
A five-pack of Bond's most popular scents (Chelsea Flowers, Chinatown, Eau de New York, Nuits de Noho and The Scent of Peace) in glam case, each bearing the Bond No. 9 “token”: $95.
Holiday Bon Bon Pocket Sprays:
Eight pocket spray flacons, each containing a different New York neighborhood eau. They're small to have on-the-go and refillable: $130.
Available at the Bond no.9 Boutiques

If candles are your style but you never find presentable ones at a reasonable price, I have two that look seriously cool, have interesting smells and are 55$:
Burn Candle in Himalayan Black Tea emits soft scents of dark steeped assam tea leaves, golden tipped Darjeeling, dried Clementine peel tisane, smoky yerba mate, Malabar banji leaf chai and aromatic ceylon infusion blend together to create an illusion of entering Marriages Freres probably. Burn Candle in Mandarin Rind encompasses scents of pomelo, yuzu, mandarin rind, red currant, pomegranate, tangerine and musk blend together to create a festive atmosphere. They both burn for 100hours, which is perfect for the price.
Available at Pink Mascara. While you're there pick up those glorious danglies too, will you?

Often, you don't want to take the chance of choosing a fragrance for someone else: too risky! But Ayala Moriel Parfums had the perfect idea: a gift certificate for them to pick their own! They come in the form of gift cards (very cute) and can be customized for any budget. The giftee also receives a complementary fragrance consultation to help them find the best scent or samples from the Ayala Moriel perfume collection. Gift cards are posted on the website in values of $65 (the cost of a purse-roll-on), $110 (parfum extrait) and $550 (signature perfume), but if none of these numbers or gift ideas are what you have in mind, Ayala Moriel is happy to send you a PayPal request for the total amount you are interested in. There is also the option of sampler sets: sampler gift boxes, to be accompanied by a gift card. This way they can pick for themselves which scent they want after trying a few of the fragrances. An especially economic choice is the 8-sample package of the top-selling perfumes with a gift card of $65 (to go towards a purse-roll-on or any other purchase). Available at Ayala Moriel Parfums

Also time to take advantage of discounts:Online decanter and seller of niche lines's bottle The Posh Peasant is having a 20% off everythingfrom December 3rd through December 12th with discount code THANKYOU08.
And Anya's Garden all-natural Perfumes and natural Essences is hosting a 25% discount for our readers with code PERFUMESHRINE. Click Anya's Garden site for choices.

Pics courtesy of Roxana Villa, Bond no.8, pinkmascara.com, ayalamoriel.com
*Disclaimer: The Perfume Shrine is not affiliated with any of the above companies.